Life as a Story: Meaning, Responsibility, and Escaping Tyranny

The question of "what is and should be the story of your life?" is profound because life itself is a story. Unlike merely telling a story about life, the idea that life is a story suggests an intrinsic meaning and adventure. If stories are the most accurate, interesting, and memorable way to represent life, then life must inherently possess these narrative qualities. This perspective contrasts sharply with a materialist view of a deterministic world devoid of inherent meaning.

A story, by its nature, is engaging and meaningful. If a story fails to captivate, it's considered a poor representation of life. This implies that a truly accurate and fulfilling life story should be meaningful and engaging. This understanding is a matter of definition and, in some ways, faith. We, as inherently limited beings, must decide what we consider real and act accordingly.

Defining Reality: Pain, Love, and Meaningful Pursuit

The materialist perspective often posits that life in a world of atoms is meaningless, with any perceived meaning being an arbitrary overlay to cope with hopelessness. However, this view often leads to bitterness and despair, suggesting it might be flawed. A different perspective, often religious but also philosophical, argues that what is truly real is what motivates us, what interests us, and what we find deeply meaningful.

Consider pain: it is undeniably real. We act as if our pain is real, and it has an intrinsically meaningful quality that cannot be ignored. If pain is real, then what helps us cope with pain must be equally or more real.

• Love: Biochemically, love can ameliorate pain. The care and affection expressed through a hug, for instance, release endogenous opiates and oxytocin, which are reassuring and analgesic. We can endure significant pain when surrounded by love, suggesting love possesses an irreducible reality.
• Meaningful Engagement: Engaging in a meaningful pursuit can also alleviate pain. Athletes in a high-stakes game, for example, can push through injuries due to the release of dopamine, a neurochemical signaling movement towards a valuable goal. This produces positive emotion and enthusiasm, acting as an analgesic.

Both meaningful engagement and love serve as "medications" for pain. If pain is real, then what alleviates suffering is also real. Our actions, what we pursue, serve as an index of what we truly believe to be real and valuable.

The Story as a Theory of Reality

Stories, whether in movies or books, represent a character's theory of reality and their aims. Character development in a story is the transformation of these aims. Life, too, is a sequence of episodes, each bounded by an aim—a destination motivated by enthusiasm. As wisdom grows, these aims transform, becoming higher, leading to character growth.

Stories can depict two primary patterns: * Upward Transformation: A hero climbing upward, continually becoming more than they are, transforming their aims and character. * Downward Degeneration: Someone degenerating into a "hell" by aiming low, corrupting themselves, and pursuing a path of bitterness.

Both patterns are informative. Simulating the life of a transforming hero allows us to practice that upward pathway in our imagination, as we do when engaging with fiction or even sports. Athletic competitions, for instance, celebrate skillful aim and the development of that aim, showcasing athletes pushing their limits and becoming more. This ability to move beyond comfort zones and develop skill and commitment is a testament to the "logos" of human nature.

Understanding Others and the World Through Aim

We understand other people not by rationally dissecting their arguments, but by inferring their aim. Our eyes, evolved to be maximally visible, point to what we are aiming at, revealing what we value. To "walk a mile in someone else's shoes" is to adopt their aim, seeing the world through their eyes and perceiving objects in relation to their journey.

Objects are not dead facts; they are living entities in relation to an aim. We perceive relevant things—facts at hand—that pertain to a goal. Things that impede our progress elicit negative emotions, while things that facilitate it elicit positive emotions. This is the landscape of the world, the story we inhabit: a journey from point A to point B.

A story represents an aim and a journey, but a deeper story involves the transformation of aims. Unexpected occurrences can dramatically change us, shifting our aims upward. This sequence of transforming aims is a tale of character development, exemplified in biblical narratives like Exodus.

The Exodus Story: A Blueprint for Life

The Exodus story provides an archetypal pattern for understanding the story of our lives. The Israelites, burdened by tyranny and slavery in Egypt, aim for the Promised Land—a better state. This upward movement is driven by the faith that the destination is superior. This assumes an "upward path," a "comedy with a happy ending," rather than a tragedy.

Tyranny and Slavery: The Undesirable State

The undesirable state in Exodus is the dynamic between tyranny and slavery. This dynamic exists at multiple levels of social reality: * Individual: We can be tyrants to ourselves, enslaved by stubborn ideas and slavish habits. The redemptive part of us can rise against this self-tyranny. * Relationships: Marriages and families can degenerate into power dynamics where one is a tyrant and the other a slave, or they alternate roles. * Community and State: Tyranny can invade local organizations, universities, and eventually entire nations. Totalitarian states are characterized by pervasive tyranny and slavery, where everyone lies to themselves and others.

This landscape of tyranny and slavery is the human realm, and the battle against it, in favor of a proper alternative, is life itself.

Moses: The Leader and the Call

Moses, an adult, becomes a leader when he encounters the burning bush. This story illustrates how to become a leader: * Adulthood and Responsibility: Moses is married, has a good relationship with his father-in-law, and is a shepherd—a noble, working-class job requiring self-reliance and the protection of the vulnerable. He has left the tyrannical state of Egypt. * The Spirit of Calling: God reveals himself to Moses through a "spirit of calling," which fills one with enthusiasm and a desire to move forward. This calling often takes us off the beaten path, beckoning us towards something more. * Responding to Interest: We don't choose what interests us; rather, what interests us chooses us. This "calling" can be a dream, a desire, or a fantasy that suggests we could be more. Rejecting this call comes at great peril, leading to pointlessness and bitterness. * Aiming Upward: Even if confused, we can identify and stop doing "stupid things" that hurt us. This is an upward aim, a decision made in faith that things can be better. Each step upward clarifies the next destination. * The Burning Bush: The flaming tree represents the essence of life magnified—life itself on fire. It's what we encounter when something grips us, calls us forward, or makes us love it. It's the spirit of life calling us to continually mature and develop. * Shedding Identity: Moses removes his shoes, a sign of respect and a shedding of his current identity, signifying his readiness to change and follow the calling. * God's Voice: When we take something seriously enough to go deep, God speaks from the depths of the burning tree of life, calling us to shed who we are and become who we could be. God identifies himself as "I am who I am"—the spirit of being itself, what always has been, is now, and always will be. * Overcoming Flaws: Moses's initial reluctance due to being "slow of tongue" is dismissed by God, who emphasizes that our flaws do not excuse us from responding to the call. We are called to do what we can, regardless of our imperfections. * Allies: God suggests Moses take his brother Aaron, who can speak, highlighting that we don't have to pursue our calling alone. There is enough "adventure" and responsibility for everyone to strive to their utmost.

Confronting the Tyrant and Establishing a Proper State

Moses returns to Egypt to confront the Pharaoh, telling him the truth: "Let my people go so they may worship me in the wilderness." This is crucial: the alternative to tyranny is not anarchic hedonistic freedom, but a properly structured state.

• The Tyrant's Refusal to Learn: The Pharaoh's refusal to learn from his mistakes leads to escalating plagues, culminating in the destruction of the future (death of the firstborn). This illustrates that persistent tyranny, in the face of disconfirming evidence, destroys not only the present but also the future. Humility, the willingness to admit one might be wrong, is the opposite.
• The Tyrant Forgets What's Valuable: When the Israelites leave Egypt, they "despoil" the Egyptians, taking their treasures. This symbolizes that in a tyranny, people forget what is truly valuable, leaving it for others to claim.
• The Desert: Shedding Habits of Slaves: The journey through the Red Sea (a cataclysmic escape from tyranny) leads not directly to the Promised Land, but to the desert. This represents the chaotic period of shedding the habits of slaves. People often prefer the certainty of tyranny to the confusion of the desert, even if the tyranny is miserable.
• The Need for Responsibility: In the desert, the Israelites whine, complain, and pine for the tyranny they left behind, demonstrating their inability to take responsibility. They make Moses their judge, burdening him with all their disputes.
• Jethro's Wisdom: Distributed Responsibility: Moses's father-in-law, Jethro, advises him to establish a hierarchy of distributed responsibility. This "principle of subsidiarity" involves organizing people into groups of ten, with elected leaders, and escalating disputes only when necessary. This prevents Moses from becoming a new Pharaoh and forces the Israelites to take responsibility for their own problems.
• The Voluntary Adoption of Maximal Responsibility: The alternative to tyranny and slavery is a hierarchy of distributed responsibility, starting with the individual and extending to family, community, and nation. This requires the voluntary adoption of maximal responsibility, which provides meaning, value, and a stable foundation for society.

The American Story: A Model of Self-Governance

The United States, founded on a subsidiary structure of self-governance, exemplifies this principle. Citizens voluntarily take on the burden of governance, leading to a highly functional, productive, and generous society. Losing this commitment to voluntary responsibility risks a return to tyranny.

The Journey to the Promised Land

The story of life is a journey from an undesirable state (tyranny/slavery) towards a better one (the Promised Land, the Kingdom of Heaven). This journey is not linear; it involves a chaotic period in the "desert" where we must reorganize ourselves psychologically and communally, adopting responsibility for our destiny. Only then can we journey towards the Promised Land in "God's company."

This story is about what everyone could be if they heed the call to adventure and responsibility. It's about establishing a harmonious psyche and a productive state through the voluntary self-sacrifice that forms the soul of a community. This concept, central to the Christian ethos and reflected in stories like Abraham's sacrifice, emphasizes that giving up impulsive individuality for the good of the community and individual transformation is the pathway to psychological integration and social harmony. Forgetting this truth leads to living in falsehood, akin to hell.

The Archetype of Satan: Luciferian Presumption

The archetype of Satan in modern society is often manifested as Luciferian presumption, particularly in the worship of technology and intellect. The Tower of Babel story illustrates this: engineers building monuments to their own intellectual prowess, leading to a fragmentation of understanding and communication. When technology or intellect is placed at the pinnacle, it becomes a terrible master, leading to a "Luciferian technological presumption."

This presumption is evident in the inability to distinguish fundamental realities, such as the sexes, leading to widespread confusion and a breakdown of shared language. While the intellect is a great servant, it is a terrible master. When it elevates itself to the highest place, it becomes instantly Luciferian, leading to destructive consequences.

Reconciling Logic and the Supernatural

Reconciling logic with the supernatural elements of the Bible requires a non-materialistic philosophy. The example of Christ as the source of an unending banquet, the well that never runs dry, and the bread that feeds multitudes can be understood not as a literal material resource, but as the pattern of self-sacrifice and upward aiming.

The idea of "natural resources" is often a materialistic and envious concept. In reality, resources like fresh water and electricity are not simply "lying around"; they are the product of immense human effort, sophisticated infrastructure, and an underlying ethos of sacrifice. The "miracle" of a functioning society, with reliable access to these necessities, is an ethical miracle, sustained by people who embody an ethos of self-sacrifice and hard work.

This ethos, embodied by Christ, is the source of an inexhaustible resource. The pattern of self-sacrifice and upward aiming is what makes the desert bloom and provides for the starving. This is a miracle that the rational can appreciate, as it demonstrates how ethical conduct, rather than just technology, makes us rich and abundant. Technology, intellect, sex, and adventure, when properly subdued and placed in service of what is highest, contribute to a flourishing existence. Anything out of place, especially when elevated to the highest position, becomes a variant of Satan.

Understanding Differences Between Men and Women

The differences between men and women are best understood and navigated within the confines of a marriage. The traditional view of the man being "in charge" is often ineffective, as women are not easily subjugated. Similarly, a woman dominating her husband can lead to a lack of sexual attraction.

The true "boss" in a marriage is what is signified by the candle: the spirit of love, truth, and maximal responsibility. This aligns with the idea that "where two or more are gathered in his name," the logos (Christ, the force that extracts order from chaos) is present. Marriage, as an opening for intimate, truthful communication, allows the spirit of the logos to manifest, transforming and ennobling both partners. By serving what is highest, neither partner is a tyrant or a slave, and they become the foundation of the community.

Finding Meaning and Motivation

For those seeking meaning and motivation, the advice is to: 1. Stop Forcing Yourself: Excessive self-coercion can be counterproductive. 2. Find a Game You Want to Play: Identify what genuinely interests and enthuses you. 3. Ask and Seek: Meditate, pray, and honestly ask yourself: "What would satisfy me? What do I want?" 4. Accept the Answer: Be open to the answers that emerge, even if they seem challenging. 5. Aim Small: If the overall goal seems overwhelming, break it down into smaller, achievable steps. 6. Dare to Dream: Allow yourself to envision a desirable future, believing that it is attainable without causing the world to fall apart.

If you are unmotivated, you might be living someone else's dream, tyrannizing yourself, or lacking a clear vision. By figuring out a game you want to play and inviting yourself along, you can find motivation and purpose.